Osmar White (1909–1991)

Osmar White was one of the rare breed of front line reporters of World War 2 who not only was in the battles and wrote about the courage and sacrifice of those who fourght in it with lyricism and real sympathy, but who also had a eye for the wider successes and failures of strategy and wrote about that with great honesty. This is an account from his contemporary diaries of the period of the Japanese expansion in New Guinea and the surrounding islands. In small portraits of impossible situations and terrain, of desperate resistance and retreat, he brings the reader around to an appreciation of what was actually achieved by small groups of extraordinarily brave men. But White also saw far ahead of many of his peers that it was disease and the precipitous mountains, that took such a toll on the defenders, which eventually blunted the Japanese thrust, and gave time for allied air power to turn the tide of battle. For Australians, who have a rich history of the achievement of jungle adapted soldier, this is a worthwhile counterpoint - the story of their forces before they learned the lessons of managing disease and jungle warfare and how those lessons were rammed home. Immensely readable and highly recommended.… (más)

This book by noted war correspondent Osmar White follows his travels through the Pacific and South East Asia in the late 1940's. He reports on social and political issues following the establishment of independence, and the restoration of colonial rule, in nations in the region. The focus, however, is very much on his own experiences and travails. Indeed the initial chapters suffer perhaps from an excess of local color - disjointed stories of acquaintances renewed with improbable characters from White's own reporting days in Papua New Guinea during WW2. But as White moves into new territories his storytelling becomes powerful reporting. His description from the inside of the Westerling coup attempt against the fledgling Indonesian Government in 1950 is journalism at it best and most dangerous. The concluding chapter, a very personal report on Portuguese rule in East Timor is an a searing indictment, reminding readers that the suffering of the Timorese people goes back long before the Indonesian invasion and occupation. For the sake of these last two episodes White's book deserves a high recommendation, although it might be best to start with these stories at the back of the book and work your way forward.… (más)